The manufacturing process for many items includes assembly along an assembly line. An assembly line is used for a wide variety of items, including but not limited to aircraft, automobiles, household appliances, and electronic goods.
The assembly line features a series of work stations that are each configured to perform one or more steps of the overall assembly process. The work stations are equipped with tools for adding components to the work piece. At the beginning of the assembly line, the work piece may start as a single component or the basic framework of the item. As the work piece progresses along the assembly line, the work piece is further assembled and begins to resemble the final item. By the end of the assembly line, the work piece is either complete or ready for additional manufacturing steps at a different assembly process. By way of example, a household appliance may be complete and ready for shipment to a customer at the end of the assembly line. Conversely, a component of an aircraft, such as an interior component, may be completed at the end of the assembly line and then moved for subsequent assembly into the larger overall aircraft.
It is often necessary to move and position the work piece at a variety of different physical positions at the different work stations. This is necessary to assemble the components on the various sections of the work piece. The positioning includes elevating the work piece to various heights above the work floor and/or orienting the work piece at different angular positions relative to the work floor. This may also include accessing the different sections and sides of the work piece (e.g., front-and-back, top-and-bottom, left-and-right sides).
The size and/or weight of the work piece often makes it difficult or impossible for a worker to physically lift and manipulate the work piece. This is particularly true in later work stations along the assembly line when the numerous components have already been added to the work piece and it begins to resemble its final configuration. Further, the worker is not able to handle the work piece because they are also handling tools and components needed for assembly.